Indians minor league recap: Triston McKenzie continues to dominate in Mahoning Valley

It is good to see some Cleveland Indians minor league affiliates winning, but it's even more fun seeing some big-name prospects absolutely destroying their respective levels in the minors. So far in his young career, that is exactly what Triston McKenzie has done in Low-A for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. Although, he did allow his first run of the season -- oh no!

The Columbus Clippers also got an excellent pitching performance out of Adam Plutko, who has looked great in three starts since being promoted to Triple-A earlier this month.

Columbus Clippers 1, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 0

Box Score · Clippers improve to 42-37

Adam Plutko recorded his first-ever shutout at the Triple-A level yesterday, and the Columbus Clippers needed every bit of it.

There was not much offense to speak of from either dugout, but the Clippers did at least manage six hits, including a single from Jesus Aguilar in the sixth that scored the one-and-only run of the game.

Abraham Almonte recorded the only Clippers extra-base hit of the day, a double, and he is now 8-for-19 in five games since starting his rehab assignment. He is eligible to rejoin the Tribe on July 3.

Adam Plutko had issues with walks in his first two Triple-A starts, but he put everything together in this latest one. He struck out five and issued just one free base while allowing three hits -- by far his best outing with the Clippers so far. Relievers Josh Martin and Ben Heller kept the Lehigh Valley IronPigs scoreless over the final two frames.

Akron RubberDucks 3, Richmond Flying Squirrels 6

Box Score · RubberDucks fall to 44-35

This game looked like a shootout in the early innings, with 11 total runs being scored in the first four innings, but by the time things slowed down, the Akron RubberDucks were already down and unable to catch up.

Bradley Zimmer had a rough day at the plate, going 0-for-4 with no walks. He was ejected in the eighth inning after arguing a strike call that led to his second strikeout of the day. Similarly, Clint Frazier was 0-for-4 with a strikeout.

Most of the 'Ducks offense came from Nellie Rodriguez, who went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.

Mike Papi continues to struggle offensively, but he did manage a double in yesterday's game that scored two of Akron's runs. If you are looking for any kind of hope with Papi's bat, he has gone 3-for-12 in his last four games while only striking out twice. It's not much, but it's something.

Michael Peoples pitched a rocky five innings of work, allowing five earned runs off of seven hits. Casey Weathers ended the game for the 'Ducks, striking out two in the bottom of the eighth.

Lynchburg Hillcats 4, Wilmington Blue Rocks 0

Box Score · Hillcats improve to 47-28

The Lynchburg Hillcats have had a lot of good pitching this season, but Sean Brady's shutout performance last night was the first for the 'Cats since June 5.

Brady was brilliant in his seven innings of work, striking out seven, walking one, and allowing just two hits. This was Brady's third shutout of the season, and the third time he's struck out seven or more batters in a start.

Tyler Krieger, making his second start in High-A, had another great game, going 2-for-4.

Anthony Santander led the way offensively, going 3-for-5 with a double and a run batted in. Santander finds himself in a bit of a hot streak, batting .326 with two home runs in his last 10 games.

Leadoff batter Greg Allen continues to hit well, adding another two-hit game, his fifth multi-hit game in his last 10.

Lake County Captains 0, South Bend Cubs 3

Box Score · Captains fall to 43-33

...at least Connor Marabell had a good game again?

The Lake County Captains could only muster five hits yesterday, while striking out six times and walking just once. It was not pretty.

As previously stated, Connor Marabell continues to hit well, adding a two-hit day yesterday along with Angel Miguel who hit two doubles.

Shao-Ching Chiang pitched a strong seven innings, striking out five and allowing just two earned runs on three walks.

Mahoning Valley Scrappers 9, Auburn Doubledays 5

Box Score · Scrappers improve to 3-9

Hey, look at that! A win in Mahoning Valley! After a rough start to the season, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers finally notched their third win of the season, thanks to a five-run, 11-hit outburst from the offense.

The Scrappers trailed much of this game, down 1-0 as late as the middle of the fifth inning, but a nine-run explosion between the fifth and seventh innings sealed their win. Scrappers batters did all this without hitting a single extra-base hit -- all singles and walks.

Luke Wakamatsu led the way for Mahoning Valley, notching three hits and two of the team's runs batted in. Logan Ice failed to register a hit, but he did walk twice and scored both times he was on base.

Indians 2015 first-round draft pick Triston McKenzie continues to look incredible in the minors, with his third straight dominant start for the Scrappers, even if he did allow his first run of the season. In his three starts this season, McKenzie has thrown in 16.2 innings, allowed one run, walked two and struck out 19 batters. Sources confirm that is pretty good.

AZL Indians 5, AZL Royals 6

Box Score · Indians fall to 3-4

Even when it's just the AZL, I never like seeing the Indians lose to the Royals. The AZL Indians mounted a late comeback with four runs in the eighth, but it was not enough to overcome the Royals' own five-run outburst in the sixth.

Will Benson had another 0-for-4 day yesterday, his third in the four games he has played in since being drafted by the Indians.

Craig Stammen, a reliever signed by the Indians this offseason, made his first rehab appearance of the season, throwing for a single inning and allowing a run off of two hits. He did end up striking out the side, however.

DSL Indians 1, DSL Yankees 0

Box Score · Indians improve to 11-10

This game was a pitcher's duel stuck at 0-0 until the DSL Indians broke it open with an eighth-inning run scored off of a throwing error. Take what you can get, I guess.

Ronny Dominguez and Wilbis Santiago both had two hits on the day, while Henry Rodriguez and Felix Fernandez rounded out the team's six total hits on the day.

Starting pitcher Luis Oviedo pitched five innings, striking out three and walking one.